Many conservation groups tend to focus on one thing only, be it people or animals and the environment. Ecolife Conservation, a community based organization, believes in a more holistic approach and wants to close that gap by serving both humans and nature in an all encompassing and beneficial way. Their mission is the conservation of land, animals, and people.

All over the world, there is a loss of habitat and species extinction, such as the monarch butterfly in Mexico. Slowly, Ecolife wants to make inroads to begin to combat that by working with local populations.

In Michoacán, Mexico, Bill Toone, executive director of Ecolife, is working with the Mazahua and Purechepan Indians. The Mazahua were cutting down forest trees for wood, the same trees where the monarch butterflies lives in their yearly migration to Mexico. As the trees decreased, so did the population of the butterflies. In addition, the smoke related illnesses among the people were increasing. Ecolife found a solution and has introduced a special kind of Patsari stove that uses less wood, so fewer trees are cut down. In addition, the stove also produces less smoke which is better for the local people. This is a holistic approach that benefits the local population and helps to maintain the butterfly population, which in turn, helps tourism in the area.

Each year, Ecolife offers guided tours to México. Toone leads these expeditions which are both recreational and educational. These tours also help to make people more conscious of the work Ecolife is doing. The next expedition to Mexico will be from February 15th to February 22nd, 2015.

Call 760-740-1346 to register or go to their website. www.ecolifeconservation.org.

Finally, Toone has not only dedicated his life to various forms of conservation, his future vision is to share his holistic approach for many others to follow.